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139A: Consent authorities to issue existing use certificates
or “The council can give you a paper that says what you're allowed to do with your land.”
You could also call this:

“This part explains how important projects are decided by special groups instead of normal ways.”

This part of the law gives the Minister special powers for important proposals that affect the whole country. These powers can be used for different kinds of applications, changes to plans, and other matters.

When the Minister uses these powers, one of two things happens. Either a board of inquiry or the Environment Court will make a decision about the proposal. This is different from the normal way things are usually decided. You can only challenge these decisions in the High Court if there’s a question about the law. If you want to challenge it further, you need special permission to go to the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal.

There are three ways the Minister can decide to use these powers. The Minister can decide on their own, or if a local authority or applicant asks them to. If the proposal was given to the Environmental Protection Authority, the Minister can decide after getting their recommendation.

If the Minister doesn’t use these special powers, the local authority that would normally deal with the proposal will handle it. But the Minister can still be involved by doing things like giving their opinion, appointing someone to help the local authority, or adding an extra person to hear the case.

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Next up: 141: Interpretation

or “This section explains important words and phrases used in the law about big resource projects.”
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Part 6AA Proposals of national significance

140Outline of this Part

  1. This section sets out the general scheme and effect of this Part. This section is by way of explanation only and does not limit or affect the other provisions of this Part or this Act.

  2. This Part provides the Minister with specific powers in relation to applications for resource consents, applications for changes to or cancellation of resource consent conditions, local authority plan changes or variations, requests for plan changes, requests for the preparation of regional plans, matters relating to regional policy statements, and notices of requirement that are or are part of a proposal of national significance.

  3. If exercised by the Minister, these powers set in motion one of 2 procedures by which the application, change, variation, request, or notice (the matter) is decided. Instead of the normal procedures set out in the Act, either a board of inquiry or the Environment Court decides the matter. A decision by a board of inquiry or the Environment Court may be challenged only by an appeal to the High Court on a question of law. If that decision is challenged, a further appeal may be taken to the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal on a question of law, but only with the leave of the Supreme Court.

  4. There are 3 ways in which a matter may come to the Minister for his or her decision on whether to make a direction to refer a matter to a board of inquiry or the Environment Court for decision. If the matter has been lodged with a local authority, the Minister may decide to make a direction on his or her own initiative or in response to a request from the local authority or the applicant. If the matter has been lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority, the Minister may decide to make a direction after receiving a recommendation from the EPA.

  5. If the Minister decides not to make a direction to refer a matter to a board of inquiry or the Environment Court for decision, the matter will be processed by the local authority that, in the normal course of the Act, would be responsible for dealing with it. However, the Minister may still intervene in the process, for example, by making a submission on the matter for the Crown, appointing a project co-ordinator to advise the local authority on any thing relating to the matter, or appointing an additional hearings commissioner.

Notes
  • Section 140: replaced, on , by section 100 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).
  • Section 140(2): amended, on , by section 40 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 30).